Located in Stone County in the Ozark Mountains of Northern Arkansas, the Mountain View Specialty Clinic doctors and staff specialize in orthopaedic care including surgery of the hand, shoulder, hip and knee as well as sports medicine, total joint replacements and fracture care.

Dr. Varela started Ozark Orthopedic and Hand Surgery Center in 1996 after serving 4 years as a Major in the US Army Medical Corps. He is a native of Santa Fe, NM, and a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Dr. Varela earned his medical degree at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine followed by an orthopedic residency at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He then completed a fellowship in hand, microsurgery, and upper extremity surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. He has published several articles in the field of orthopedic surgery.

His orthopedic specialty areas include hand surgery, knee injuries, joint replacement, trauma surgery, and foot surgery. He is board certified in orthopedic surgery with added certification in surgery of the hand.

Dr. Varela and his wife Debra have 3 children. Hayley is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas majoring in Biology/pre-med. Jarret is a senior at Mountain View High school and Tyler is a Sophomore. Dr. Varela enjoys traveling with the family, cycling, farming, and outside activities with the kids.

Dr. Akins, a native of Hampton, AR, relocated to Mountain View in August 2011. He attended Lyon College on a basketball scholarship where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2000. He received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2004. After finishing residency training in orthopaedic surgery at Texas A&M Health Sciences Center in 2010, he completed additional fellowship training in sports medicine at the Hughston Clinic in Columbus, GA.

His orthopaedic interests in addition to arthroscopic shoulder surgery and arthroplasty, include knee reconstruction, joint replacement, and fracture care. Dr. Akins and his wife Kelly have four young girls, Ellie 8, Emma 6, Erin 3, and Eli who is under 1. He enjoys basketball, tennis, fishing, and snow-skiing.